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Here’s What Grayson Allen’s Mother Reportedly Asked Him When He Was Tripping Players Last Year

Duke star Grayson Allen’s college career will come to a close in the next few weeks. Tuesday, USA Today released a great article on his journey.

Grayson Allen was one of the more likable players on Duke’s 2015 national title squad during his freshman year, but by his sophomore year, he was one of the most hated players in the country. Allen, against Louisville back in February of 2016, stuck his leg out to trip Cardinals forward Ray Spalding. He did it again against Florida State a few weeks later. By the end of the year, he was notorious for tripping players when frustrated.

Apparently, even his own mother couldn’t figure out why he was doing it.

USA Today’s Lindsay Schnell released a great story on Allen’s college career on Tuesday. In it, she notes that Allen’s mother, Sherry, and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski had a conversation after a hostile road game at Florida State in 2017. Here’s more:

“Coach K told me, ‘Grayson is OK, he’s handling (the criticism). What Grayson is not going to be OK with is Mom not being OK,’ ” Sherry recalls. She knew then she had to rein in the “protective mama bear.” She and William did not think it appropriate to get involved from a disciplinary perspective either, instead trusting Krzyzewski and his staff to take care of things.

But she did ask her son a question:

“You need to figure out why you are doing this,” she told Grayson. “What is the impulse that triggers you, competitively, to cross the line?”

Allen, this season, stayed mostly out of the spotlight. But against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, Allen was assessed a flagrant foul after appearing to swing his rear end into Tar Heels player Garrison Brooks.

Duke is a 2-seed in this year’s tournament, and one of the favorites to cut down the nets. Allen himself has a chance to bookend national titles in his career.